In September 2023, according to BDL’s latest stats, individuals repaid the equivalent of $18 billion in personal loans. (Credit: João Sousa)
In April 2018, Hadi bought his dental clinic for LL300 million ($200,000 at the time) in loan, with a monthly payment ranging between LL6.5 and LL5.5 million. Five years later, when the national currency had lost over 98 percent of its value, his last draft amounted to the equivalent of $55, compared with $4,300 initially. It’s a blessing for the dentist, who was able to charge for his services in dollars, thus acquiring his property at half its price.At the end of 2021, when the dollar was trading for over LL20,000, Elie opted for another solution. He took advantage of the fact that many depositors wanted their stuck dollars out of the bank [known as lollars] — even if it would mean that its value would substantially decrease — to pay off his entire loan at a stroke. So he bought a check in 35,000 lollars, in exchange for $2,600, and...
In April 2018, Hadi bought his dental clinic for LL300 million ($200,000 at the time) in loan, with a monthly payment ranging between LL6.5 and LL5.5 million. Five years later, when the national currency had lost over 98 percent of its value, his last draft amounted to the equivalent of $55, compared with $4,300 initially. It’s a blessing for the dentist, who was able to charge for his services in dollars, thus acquiring his property at half its price.At the end of 2021, when the dollar was trading for over LL20,000, Elie opted for another solution. He took advantage of the fact that many depositors wanted their stuck dollars out of the bank [known as lollars] — even if it would mean that its value would substantially decrease — to pay off his entire loan at a stroke. So he bought a check in 35,000 lollars, in exchange for $2,600,...
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